Northwestern Michigan College
Public Community College in Traverse City, MI. Six-year graduation rate 24%. Median 10-year earnings $38,167.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $38,167, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 24% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $12,500, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 24% — below national average
Academics
Only 24% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. First-year retention of 84% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 22% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The 13:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,668 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $7,427 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $5,237 at $0–30k against $11,630 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 70% get grants averaging $5,878, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 25% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 386 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $5,237 |
| $30–48k | $3,168 |
| $48–75k | $7,568 |
| $75–110k | $8,909 |
| $110k+ | $11,630 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 673 of these 2,668 students, totalling $4,114,557 — an average of $6,114 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Grand Traverse County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)